Among the 258 urban areas that participated in the second quarter 2021 Cost of Living Index, the after-tax cost for a professional/managerial standard of living ranged from more than twice the national average in New York (Manhattan) NY to more than 20 percent below the national average in Kalamazoo, MI. The Cost of Living Index is published quarterly by C2ER – The Council for Community and Economic Research.

The Ten Most and Least Expensive Urban Areas in the Cost of Living Index (COLI)
Second Quarter 2021
National Average for 258 Urban Areas = 100

Most Expensive			Least Expensive
Rank	Urban Areas	COL Index	Rank	Urban Areas	COL Index
1	Manhattan, NY	241.0	1	Kalamazoo MI	77.1
2	San Francisco CA	187.1	2	Harlingen TX	77.3
3	Honolulu HI	185.9	3	McAllen TX	77.7
4	Brooklyn, NY	171.2	4	Muskogee OK	78.9
5	Washington DC	153.3	5	Jackson MS	79.1
6	Seattle WA	150.4	6	Amarillo TX	81.7
7	Boston MA	150.3	7	Tupelo MS	82.0
8	Oakland CA	149.5	8	Pittsburg KS	82.1
9	Orange County CA	149.2	9	Anniston-Calhoun County AL	82.3
10	Los Angeles-Long Beach CA	148.9	10	Richmond IN	82.3

 

The Cost of Living Index measures regional differences in the cost of consumer goods and services, excluding taxes and non-consumer expenditures, for professional and managerial households in the top income quintile. It is based on more than 90,000 prices covering 60 different items for which prices are collected quarterly by chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, and university applied economic centers in each participating urban area. Small differences should not be interpreted as showing a measurable difference.

The composite index is based on six component categories – housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services.

The City of Findlay’s second-quarter 2021 Cost of Living Index was 92.2, which is 7.8 percent below that of the national average. The City of Findlay’s composite index reflects the following six different categories of consumer expenditures.

	Grocery Items	Housing	Utilities	Trans-portation	Health Care	Misc. GoodsAnd Services
Findlay, OH	101.5	77.0	89.8	94.7	93.2	100.4

 

The Most to Least Expensive Urban Areas in Ohio in the Cost of Living Index (COLI)
Second Quarter 2021
National Average for 258 Urban Areas = 100

Ranking	Urban Areas	COL Index
1	Cleveland		94.4
2	Cincinnati		93.0
3	Columbus		92.4
4	Findlay		92.2
5	Dayton		91.5
6	Lima		88.9s

 

Compared to other Ohio cities, Findlay’s data showed that it ranked second-least expensive in the Unities category. The data also shows that Findlay ranked third least expensive for the costs of Housing, Transportation, Health Care, and Miscellaneous Goods & Services.

What Do Groceries Cost?

Each quarter, C2ER collects more than 90,000 prices from communities across the US for the Cost of Living Index. With food prices still being a big part of the national conversation, C2ER decided to once again feature those communities with the most and least expensive food costs as measured by the grocery item index number. C2ER collects data on twenty-six items from a variety of surrogate categories to represent the grocery item component of the index. See the chart below for the Ohio comparison:

The Most to Least Expensive Places for Grocery Items by Index Number in the Cost of Living Index (COLI)
Second Quarter 2021
National Average for 258 Urban Areas = 100

Ranking	Urban Areas	COL Index
1	Cleveland		102.2
2	Findlay		101.5
3	Columbus		100.5
4	Lima		96.9
5	Dayton		96.6
6	Cincinnati		93.7

 

The Most Expensive and Least Expensive Cities to Buy Ribeye

COVID-19 disrupted the supply chain of many industries, including the meat industry where plant shutdowns, labor shortages, and surging demand sent prices for meat-based products soaring. The pandemic particularly affected the prices of beef. For example, ribeye has consistently experienced an increase in the average price across metro areas each quarter since the start of the pandemic. It is important to highlight how the price of ribeye and similar products have shifted to track trends in the cost of  living. The city with the most expensive cost of Ribeye was San Francisco, with the cost of $16.67.

The Costs to buy Ribeye in Ohio
Second Quarter 2021
Average for 258 Urban Areas = $12.56

Ranking	Urban Areas	Avg. Price ($)
1	Lima		16.32
2	Dayton		15.99
3	Cleveland		15.16
4	Findlay		14.49
5	Columbus		13.23
6	Cincinnati		12.29

 

For more information on the C2ER Cost of Living Index, e-mail info@FindlayHancockChamber.com.